Integretel Organized Crime Third Party billing through SBC for never called 900 numbers. Accuse you of aurthorizing an internet dialer which is illegally installed on your system ripoff San Jose California

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

If you do any kind of internet search on this company you will see there are no good reports.

They have multi-million dollar law suits against them by several states and hundreds of FCC complaints. How they are in bed with SBC his highly suspect. Why would any ligitimate company let these criminals bill through there service is beyond me.

When you contact SBC to dispute your bill (usually a $20.00 a minute 900 charge) The telephone company agrees to remove the charge and directs you to contact Integrel directly. The Integrel operator accuses you of authorizing the dial out and you of receiving information online. They agree to remove 50% of the charges and if you insist they will remove all of them. They exisit on the assumption that you will not follow through and will just pay out of frustration. They read from the same script for every call and will not remove the charges unless you listen to the entire script.

Follow through and file complaints with the FCC, SBC, and the Attorney general of California and of your own state. SBC should be somehow held accountable for this criminal action too. They claim by FCC regulations they must allow these criminals to prey on us but they refuse to provide you with any information about the company or their association with such scum.

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

AUTHOR: Rj - (U.S.A.)

I feel obligated to share the information that I have, with difficulty, finally located on the SBC site. My feeling is that SBC very purposely does not make it easy to locate!

I have discovered that some SBC operators are neither fully knowledgeable nor helpful in resolving cramming charges. And while it's true that phone companies are required by federal regulation to allow third-party charges to be added, it is equally true that they are paid to do so. Therefore, whether charges are legitimate or fraudulent, the phone company sees them as potential profit and is often not likely to be enthusiastic in helping the customer fight the scammers.

Also, counter to the advice that I've read numerous places on the internet, SBC has communicated to me IN WRITING that they WILL NOT put a block on third-party billing, fraudulent or not. Supposedly, SBC policy does not allow it to be done and there is no such thing as a block for third-party billing at SBC. I did say supposedly!

Please read all information below, which was pasted DIRECTLY from the SBC/ATT site.

The following SBC Consumer Information is located at (http://www.sbc.com/gen/general?pid=1418). It states, in part:

How SBC Can Help if You've Been Crammed:

If customers are billed for collect calls they did not accept or for calls that were accepted under false pretenses, such as calls falsely represented to have been placed by family members, they should advise the carrier that they dispute the charges and refuse to pay any unauthorized charges.

With regard to the disputed charges, customers should first attempt to deal directly with the carrier with whom the charge originated, whose name and toll-free telephone number should be printed on the same bill page as the charge in question. Often, the problem can be resolved with a single telephone call.

If the carrier with whom the charge originated does not agree to resolve the problem, customers should call SBC at the number that appears on the first page of their bill.

CUSTOMERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PAY CHARGES FOR GOODS AND SERVICES THEY NEITHER ORDERED NOR RECEIVED, AND SBC WILL WORK WITH THESE CUSTOMERS TO GET THE "CRAMMED" CHARGES REMOVED FROM THEIR PHONE BILL.

To file a cramming complaint, contact your local public utilities commission or the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (CALL FCC) or http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cramming.html

IN ADDITION, there is an SBC/ATT so-called CONSUMER ADVOCACY page located at: http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=6044

From that page, there is a link to an SBC PDF file:
(http://www.sbc.com/Common/images/news_room/press_kits/sbc_top_scams.pdf)

The PDF file title is: Tips For Safeguarding Against Scams And Threats

Reporting Scams and Fraud

When consumers have questions about charges on their telephone bill, they should contact the carrier with whom the charge originated, whose name and toll-free telephone number should be printed on the same bill page as the charge in question. Often, the problem can be resolved with a single phone call.

If the carrier with whom the charge originated does not agree to resolve the problem, SBC customers should contact an SBC customer service representative using the phone number on their bill or by going to www.sbc.com/contact_us.

SBC REPRESENTATIVES WILL WORK WITH THE CUSTOMER AND THE CARRIER TO HELP REMOVE FRAUDULENT CHARGES FROM THE PHONE BILL.

SBC LOCAL CARRIERS WILL NOT DISCONNECT LOCAL TELEPHONE SERVICE FOR NONPAYMENT OF A DISPUTED THIRD-PARTY CHARGE.

[I should add that the customer who has been crammed must continue to pay all legitimate phone company charges on time. Otherwise, there is no doubt that SBC will disconnect.]

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.